Day One: Google Classroom, Smartboard App, and Prezi - Trouble Along the Way

It's Day One! It feels great to be back in it again.

Background: Day One in Mr. Broder's 9th Grade English

I like to start to get to know the students through writing and a bit of discussion for a whole set of reasons (start with the routines of the class through performance, let the students voice their thoughts about the summer reading, identify different sorts of learners, etc.).

Narrative: What Happened

While my class is paper-less, I gave the students the option, on the first day, to "hand-write" their first responses. Those who were inclined to join and log-on to my class on Google Classroom were able to access the assignment through a Google Classroom assignment. They weren't, however, able to edit the document.  Those who were savvy were able to copy and paste onto a google doc and then return it to me. Others had much trouble with every step along the way: adding a class on Google Classroom, accessing the assignment, etc. It was fine for a trial run, but perhaps a confusing experience for Day 1 of class. Most students hand-wrote their assignments. Finally, I demo'd my Haiku page, but it shut down (servers overloaded on Day One?). I'll have to think carefully about how to introduce students to all features in Haiku, as the class is paper-less and primarly through Haiku portal.

Post-Script: What Didn't Happen

I had wanted to show them my daily classroom slides (off of Smartboard and Prezi) with the corresponding apps but encountered the following issues, too, in my prep time before class:

• I couldn't make the Smarboard app go full-screen--is that a glitch in the app? I can do it from the software on my classroom computer.
• I was able to mirror my Prezi presentation on the smartboard, but I couldn't toggle through each slide in any obvious way. Why not? I just use the buttons on my computer when projecting from a PC--how is there not a comparable feature for the iPad app?

Take Away: For Next Time

• Figure out how to make docs in Google Classroom editable upon student reception. Was it because I used a word doc and not a google doc? Yes, I think. 
• Smartboard App--I can't believe that it doesn't have a full screen feature! I also discovered that it has Google Drive integration, which is amazing, as all my files are on Drive. If I can get the full screen feature, then I'm sold. 
• Prezi--I've got to figure out how to work it on the iPad app. There must be a way to mirror the Prezi slide feel.